NEC 3200 Gen 2 with Real D XL

Lots of controversy floating around with what settings will work with a NEC 3200 Gen 2 projector with Real D XL. These are the settings I found work.

Data type: progressive

Frame Rate Ratio: 6:2
L/R input reference: used selected input port(polarity=inverted)
L/r display reference: not used
L/r output reference polarity: inverted
Dark time adjustment: 900
Outpu reference delay: -120


These are the settings I found worked. I want to tweak them a bit, but the scheduled show was about to start so I couldn't get anymore work done on them. Let me know if you find anything better. gothamx.majewski@gmail.com

NEC 2500: Lost all settings and then System Error, DLP CommE Error, ARM Fail, IB Ethernet

Situation:
Theatre called saying that they had a power outage (due to near by construction). When they regained power they went to turn on their NEC 2500. It asked for new bulb settings. This was weird because this warning only comes up on new projectors from the factory. Over the phone I walked him thru unlocking the projector with the remote and go to set the bulb selection. The manager told me over the phone that there is none listed. I told him that I would arrive first thing tomorrow morning.

Onsite:
Bulb settings were not there. IP for projector was 18.16.0.0 and IP for TI was 0.0.0.0. This disabled me from hooking up to the projector with my laptop and I couldn't reset the hours because I needed to set the bulb settings.

I entered in our bulb settings for a 6K bulb and was able to then power up the projector. I then went to the Factory Reset section of the menu and reset ALL. When it reset I got 192.168.10.10 for projector IP and 0.0.0.0 IP for TI. I then got the following 4 errors. System Error, DLP CommE Error, ARM Fail and IB Ethernet.

A serial connection to the the TI with the TI control software showed that the TI was in DHCP mode and not recieving a message.


Diagnosis:
After speaking with a tech from Strong he concluded that it must be the CPU board. We were unable to get a board out in time, so I had to take a CPU board from a theatre that was getting ready to be installed and wouldn't be "live" until the end of the month.

The CPU board holds all of the major projector settings including the IP settings. I also learned that the TI board is set to DHCP and upon booting up receives its IP from the CPU board. With the CPU board "fried" it was unable to send the IP information to the TI board to then communicate with the system.

Operation:
The CPU board is the lower board attached to the front patch panel of the projector. This is where all the Video inputs plug in. The board is mounted to the face plate and in addition that Ethernet board and DVI board is also attached. It is easiest to remove the entire front plate with the 3 boards and then remove the CPU board. However, you could probably just remove the CPU board. The main front panel has 2 BNC connections that are for the SDI input and 2 DVI connections. There are 12 small board connections on the front panel to get it detached from the projector and 4 screws holding it in place.



When replacing keep in mind that there is 1 small 2 wire connection under the upper lip that is not visible when its installed. Outside fo that the board is easy to swap and all the ports are very visible.

Once the front panel is off, to remove the CPU board you need to disconnect the 2 ethernet cables beneath the front panel. You also need to remove the 2 mounting posts on the front panel that hold the serial cable port in place. Remove the 3 small connection cables and the 4 screws that hold the CPU board in place. It should slide right out.

Reassemble the same way.

The CPU board is identical between a 1600 and 2500 so if you get a board from the factory you will need to flash it with the proper Firmware and Data before powering up. In my case I knew it was from a 2500 so I was in the clear.

Once the CPU board is replaced you will need to redo all of your system files (screen files, titles, and such) or restore all of your settings you have backed up.

The Future is Now

I work for a theatre chain in the Wisconsin area (which will remain nameless). I've been working in the movie theatre business 14 years and have been exclusively in the Booth Projection Services for the last year. I've worked almost every aspect of the business starting from an usher, vendor, projectionist, assistant manager, IT and all around answer guy for odds and ends.

The last year we, as a company, have put fort a push to install Digital cinema in many of our theatres to feed the growing popularity of Digital 3D. With the outstanding success of Avatar we have rolled out another dozen and have even begun work on installing on our very large auditorium screens (70 plus feet wide) to compete with the branded Imax name.

I've worked with Digital cinema for almost 5 years now and have done most of the testing. I've worked with NEC, Sony, Barco projectors and Doremi, Kodak and Dolby servers. They all have their pluses and they all have their minuses. The only thing in common, is that they are all computers.

In the last year installing I've come across several incidents, oops, "you got to be kidding me's" and others of the likes. You can ask my wife how many weekend days I had to leave to go fix a projector and didn't call until almost dinner to say it will be a little more. During this time I've noticed a few things.

1. The errors usually have almost nothing to do with the aliment.
   
2. The diagnosis usually is out of left field. Ranging from hardware replacement to just turning a little pot to turn up the voltage, to even just installing a "secret" firmware upgrade. Which brings me to my 3rd..
   
3. NO one is really sharing information. It seems you have to ask extra special nicely about a certain fix to get the answer. Not very good sharing or communication. I've seen alot in less then a year.

Now that brings us to this blog. Many of my coworkers and associates have talked on how there is no common place for us to exchange information. Outside of us forwarding e-mails to each other or passing along a tidbit over the phone or handing off a USB stick with programs we got from someone else. There really wasn't a forum to document our wacky adventures.

So I want to have this blog to type in my journal of incidents and fixes. I'm hoping that some of my associates also contribute to this as well.

If you have any questions or comments. Please feel free to e-mail me at gothamx.majewski@gmail.com.